The world did not cave in after Adelaide’s loss in the first ever Showdown.

By the time the South Australian teams were ready for the second derby of 1997, both teams were in the mix to play in the finals. And for most of Showdown II it appeared the new Power side would again triumph.

Port led by 30 points at quarter-time after kicking with the aid of a strong breeze before the rain tumbled down. The Crows trailed by 16 points at half-time and then 23 points at the last change but then produced what remains one of the best quarters of football in Showdown history.

It didn’t start well, with five consecutive behinds, but the ball was being forced forward through the efforts of ruckman Shaun Rehn, Brett James, Mark Ricciuto and Mark Bickley.  Their work was finally rewarded with a Tony Modra goal cutting the margin to 11 points. And then Andrew McLeod stepped forward, pouncing on a tap from Rehn and goaling from close to the boundary line. Two minutes later Troy Bond had a smile on his face when he marked about 30 metres out. Fortunately he also kicked the goal to take the lead.  Finally, with the timekeeper ready to sound the final siren, Peter Vardy goaled from a difficult set shot and Adelaide had pinched the points to move to the top of the AFL ladder. A few weeks later, after a remarkable winning run through September, the Crows had won their first AFL premiership.

Showdown II, August 10 1997: Adelaide 9.11 (65) d Port 9.4 (58).